DA chapter 53

Human nature is like this by itself. The others also could not blame Jin Jie because, if they were in his position, they would most likely do the same to protect themselves.

They found a strange kind of comfort in the fact that, although Jin Jie did not actively explain the situation or save his companion, at least he had not harmed anyone.

The clues had already been shared almost completely. The sunlight changed angle, and the flower bed area was no longer in the shade. The others hurried to find shade elsewhere.

Lin Jia seized an opportunity, walked to Yan Xu’s side and asked, “Does Captain Yan still remember the voice outside the door last night? Was it a male or female voice?”

Because he had a brief stress reaction due to the darkness last night, his memory of the voice standing at the door asking questions was not clear.

Lin Jia vaguely remembered it as a hoarse, gloomy male voice. However, judging from Jin Jie’s description, the voice was female.

Yan Xu looked at Lin Jia. “You heard another voice?”

Lin Jia did not elaborate. The more he said, the harder it would be to explain his stress reaction. He stayed silent and waited for Yan Xu’s answer.

Yan Xu was no match for Lin Jia’s patience, so he gave in. “A female voice, but quite young.”

Baseed from Jin Jie’s description, the white-haired elder answered the voice outside the door because he thought it was his mother.

The white-haired elder was very old, so his mother would be even older; her voice could not be this young.

Lin Jia understood and asked, “Captain Yan means that different people hear different voices from the shadow.”

Unless there was more than one shadow.

Yan Xu was just about to answer when the others, who had failed to find shade, returned.

The curly-haired man said nervously, “I saw some nurses go back into the inpatient building. They must be going to Ward 202. Captain Yan, what should we do next?”

Although they were not in immediate danger and could still sit in the sunlight, they were still in a passive position, being arranged by the medical staff. No one knew when the medical staff might give them a death-due date.

The curly-haired man looked at Yan Xu, then at Lin Jia. Copying Xiao Tian’s way of addressing Lin Jia, he timidly called out, “Brother Jia.”

He hoped to receive either a way to survive or at least some comfort from Lin Jia.

Lin Jia did not respond. Even if the curly-haired man had called him “Father,” Lin Jia still would not have made a sound to comfort him.

Only Yan Xu would respond to them. Yan Xu said: “What else can you do? Just don’t answer the voice outside.”

It seemed true enough when put like that, but everyone still looked upset. They all knew the voice was strange—did the white-haired elder not know? How could a mother’s voice be inside Fish Belly? It was obvious that the white-haired elder had been bewitched by the voice. What they really wanted to ask was how to avoid being bewitched by that voice.

The curly-haired man wanted to ask more questions, but when he saw Lin Jia frown slightly, he didn’t dare speak up.

Beside them, Jin Jian was worried about his brother. Although Jin Jie was not the one hit last night, Jin Jian could not help but worry. After all, Jin Jie and the white-haired elder were in the same ward. Jin Jian knew that there was no such thing as safety inside Fish Belly; the only way to escape danger was to leave Fish Belly.

No one wanted to stay long in Fish Belly. At that moment, Jin Jian’s desire to leave Fish Belly surged within him. However, they were in an extremely passive position, and the clues they had obtained could not be connected. They were still very far from finding Soup Base.

And to get one step closer to the Soup Base, they could only rely on the Fishman’s questions.

Jin Jian was extremely anxious. Even if they asked Fishman questions, what else could they ask?

How should they ask questions to avoid danger while obtaining key clues to Soup Base?

They had already spent the whole day in Fish Belly, and Jin Jian simply did not know what Fishman questions remained to be asked. “Yesterday, we only asked one question and wasted two Fishman questions. Wouldn’t all three Fishman questions be wasted today too?”

“Wasted?” Yan Xu glanced at Jin Jian.

Jin Jian immediately sensed a glimmer of hope: “Captain Yan, you…”

“Stay here.”

Yan Xu threw down only that sentence. He didn’t say what he was going to do or tell the others what to do. When the number of nurses decreased, he found an opening and slipped from beside the flower bed to the inpatient building.

Everyone watched as Yan Xu neatly climbed a tree, leaped from it, supported himself with both hands on the window edge, and flipped stylishly into the third-floor ward.

Ward 302 — the ward where Lin Jia and Yan Xu stayed. Lin Jia frowned slightly. The ward window had not been closed; apparently Yan Xu had opened it before leaving the ward.

“Captain Yan is… going to ask a Fishman question?”

“Don’t know.”

Everyone stared in shock. Lin Jia coldly reminded them, “Don’t look in his direction.”

The nurses were still there. If they kept looking toward where Yan Xu had disappeared, it would easily reveal that he had left without permission.

Lin Jia gave the order, and the others complied, not looking toward Yan Xu’s disappearance point again.

Jin Jian could not help but ask Lin Jia, “What question does Captain Yan want to ask Fishman?”

It wasn’t strange that he asked Lin Jia because, before, when Yan Xu asked Fishman questions, he asked Lin Jia for his opinion. Naturally, everyone thought Lin Jia knew.

Lin Jia said lightly: “He didn’t say. I don’t know.”

Time passed quickly. By the time Yan Xu found a chance to reach Fishman and ask him a question, the others had already finished their outdoor release time.

Yan Xu then returned directly to Ward 302 and used the window again.

The window in Ward 302 had not been closed — Lin Jia had left it open for him. Ward 302 was quiet. After confirming that there was no nurse inside, Yan Xu jumped in from outside.

He landed lightly on the windowsill but almost startled the cat.

“Oh, sorry.” Yan Xu had almost stepped on the cat’s tail. No one knew if the cat accepted his apology. The cat turned and jumped onto Lin Jia’s bed.

Yan Xu’s gaze followed the cat and landed on Lin Jia.

Lin Jia leaned against the bed, his outer coat barely draped over his shoulders, and his face looked terrible.

“What happened to you?” Yan Xu asked, walking closer.

When he reached the foot of the bed, he saw that the patient information card hanging there had been updated.

He picked it up and saw that the card showed the patient had already taken medicine today.

Yan Xu paused. This was Lin Jia’s information card. He then picked up his own. Likewise, his card showed that the patient had already taken medicine today.

Suddenly, Yan Xu understood something and raised his head: “You ate my portion, too.”

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